The 26th Annual Pioneer Life Week at Carter Caves State Resort Park is taking place this week (July 24-30, 2017).

The week-long event focuses on special programs that show life on the Kentucky frontier in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Visitors can enjoy a step back in time in the pioneer camp near the Carter Caves campground registration building.

Re-enactors will demonstrate skills that were needed for life on frontier Monday, July 24 through Saturday, July 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday, July 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This year’s event will also feature two special performances by Private William Greathouse, War of 1812 soldier, and Jemima Boone, child of Daniel Boone. These performances are sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council as part of its Kentucky Chautauqua program.

Greathouse, as portrayed by Harry Smith, will be Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. and Boone, as portrayed by Betsy B. Smith, will be Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Both performances will be at the park amphitheater located near the Caveland Lodge and are free.

You can contact the Park’s office of recreation at 606-286-4411 for details. Beautiful Carter Caves State Resort Park has a lodge, cottages, campground including horse campground with full hook ups, and a restaurant featuring Kentucky fare.

Talk about a beautiful and photogenic experience! Combining the beauty of Carter Caves State Park with gorgeous wildflowers? Sign me up!

The Wildflower Pilgrimage is set for April 21-22 at Carter Caves State Resort Park (near Olive Hill).

Throughout the weekend guests will experience the beauty of the area during wildflower walks. This is the perfect weekend for experienced wildflower enthusiasts, beginner bloomers or those who just enjoy being in the woods to get outside and experience the natural beauty of spring.

The event is sponsored by the Friends of Carter Caves and all trips are free this year.

Participants will be able to sign up for the hikes at the park. Overnight lodging and camping is available (you can find the prices by calling the park – the phone number is below). The park’s friends group will host a hot dog cook out on Saturday with proceeds benefiting the park.

Call the park at 606-286-4411 for more information or to make lodging reservations.

In addition to cave tours, Carter Caves offers hiking, mini-golf, fishing and a gem mine. Carter Caves also has a lodge, cottages and restaurant. For more information, call the park at 1-800-325-0059 or visit parks.ky.gov.

Directions to Carter Caves State Resort Park from Interstate 64 East: take exit 161 (Olive Hill exit). Turn left off the exit onto U.S. 60 east. Go approximately 2 miles and turn left on KY 182 north. Park entrance is 3 miles from the left turn onto KY 182 north.

If you’ve ever visited Carter Caves State Resort Park in Olive Hill, Kentucky, you know what I mean when I say it’s a breathtakingly beautiful park. If you’ve never been, here’s a perfect reason to go in just a matter of weeks.

The Eastern Mining Collectors Association will hold its sixth annual Spring Meet and Show at Carter Caves State Resort Park on April 1.

You can learn more about the rich and fascinating history of coal mining in Eastern Kentucky at this free event.

Vendors from across the country and as far away as California will be at the show to sell, buy and trade mining artifacts used in the mining of coal, gold, silver and copper. The artifacts include lamps, mine signs, photos, posters and other items. They will also be available to give free appraisals of mining-related items that you might have hidden in your attic, basement or barn.

Visitors will have an opportunity to talk about coal mining and understand the work that it takes for a miner today, and years ago, to produce coal used for electricity.

Carter Caves State Resort Park is located at 344 Caveland Drive in Olive Hill. The park has a lodge with a restaurant, cottages and campground. Besides cave tours, activities include hiking, horseback riding, swimming, boating and fishing. For more information about the park, call 1-800-325-0059.

Directions: From Interstate 64, Exit 161, take U.S. 60 east. Go approximately two miles and turn left on KY 182 north. The park entrance is three miles from the left turn onto KY 182 north.

Kentuckians love music festivals and music-centered events – they’re among the most popular activities in the entire state. Beautiful Carter Caves State Resort Park has a musical tradition that’s coming up in September. Read on for the details!

The festival that began as a family reunion honors old-time music and eastern Kentucky traditions as well as the late master fiddler J.P. Fraley. Musicians will be jamming in parking lots and sharing music around the campfires of Carter Caves State Resort Park. Musical instruments such as the dulcimer, fiddle and guitar are used to tell stories about life long ago in the eastern Kentucky foothills.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, there will be a free “Jamming in the Round” get-together in the campground starting at 8 p.m. On Thursday, Sept. 8, starting at 7 p.m., enjoy an open stage concert in the park’s amphitheater.

At 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, the amphitheater will come to life with an open stage, a banjo gathering and a dulcimer gathering. Friday’s activities will be capped with a 7 p.m. concert in the amphitheater.

Saturday morning, Sept. 10, there will be a kid’s jam session in front of the lodge. Late morning into the afternoon the amphitheater will resound with sessions devoted to ballads, storytelling, and Carter Family songs, and conclude with a fiddle gathering and guitar gathering. Saturday night’s concert in the amphitheater begins at 7 p.m.

Paid admission is required for concerts and jam sessions Friday afternoon through Saturday night. Fees range from $4 to $10. A festival pass for all programs costs $25 per person. The Friends of Carter Caves will provide refreshments during the event.

Carter Caves State Resort Park features a lodge, vacation cottages, RV campsites and primitive campsites. The lodge restaurant offers a variety of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. There’s also hiking, golf, mini-golf, fishing, horseback riding and swimming. The park is located in northeastern Kentucky, 4 miles off Interstate 64 between Grayson and Olive Hill (exit 161).

Throughout the weekend guests will experience the beauty of the area during wildflower walks, canoe trips and van tours. This is the perfect weekend for experienced wildflower enthusiasts, beginner bloomers or those who just enjoy being in the woods to get outside and experience the natural beauty of spring.

Just be sure to take your camera with you!

The registration fee is $20 for adults and $10 for children. An overnight lodging package for two including two night’s lodging and registration fees is available for $179.95, plus tax.

Call the park at 1-800-325-0059 to register.

In addition to cave tours, Carter Caves offers hiking, golf, mini-golf, fishing and a gem mine. Carter Caves also has a lodge, cottages and restaurant. For more information, call the park at 1-800-325-0059 or visit parks.ky.gov/

Directions to Carter Caves State Resort Park from Interstate 64 East: take exit 161 (Olive Hill exit). Turn left off the exit onto U.S. 60 east. Go approximately 2 miles and turn left on KY 182 north. Park entrance is 3 miles from the left turn onto KY 182 north.

Photo Credit: The photo of the beautiful Iris is from the Kentucky State Parks. The beautiful deer at the top was photographed by me during our last visit to Carter Caves. I thought her positioning by the sign was PERFECTION.

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